


burnt offering

by Ford_Ye_Fiji



Series: and love will be your teacher [7]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Violence against small children, i would put a warning if that happened, is - Freeform, like killing not you know uh the nasty stuff, so this one, that’s not a thing I’ll ever write, the last one ended on a fluffy note my peeps, which it won’t ever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-12-27 21:06:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21125249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ford_Ye_Fiji/pseuds/Ford_Ye_Fiji
Summary: An attack and the aftermath.





	burnt offering

Zuko couldn’t sleep. It seemed no matter how he tossed and turned, the moon seemed to always be shining in his eyes. He groaned and put his pillow over his head. That worked effectively. For a few minutes. 

The moon shouldn’t be this bright. 

Then, rather suddenly, the rays of light were snuffed out. 

The hairs on the back of his neck prickled. 

Zuko took the pillow off his head. 

The reason Tui was no longer bothering him was because the shadow of a person had blocked Agni's borrowed light out, the glint of a knife blade in the night air. 

Instinct took over and Zuko rolled. The figure, the  assassin , his mind realized hadn’t been expecting that. The knife came down and pierced the empty bed, feathers billowing into the air. Zuko, panicking, slid off the bed and ran. 

The assassin, dressed in black, face nearly obscured, recovered quickly and took advantage of their longer reach. 

His fingers closed around the doorknob just as a hand clamped on his shoulder whirling him around and slamming him into the door, knocking the breath out of his lungs. (That was a firebending lesson he’d been taught over and over again. Do not let your enemy steal your breath away.) 

A hand over his mouth kept him from screaming, fingertips undoubtedly leaving bruises, the knifepoint digging into his throat. He couldn’t breathe and the assassin hissed as he raised his knife, " _Glory to the true sons and daughters of the Fire Nation._ " 

Zuko finally caught his breath, breathing in and up and  _out_ . The assassin hadn’t realized the implications of his father being Fire Lord Iroh, the Dragon of the West.

Zuko  _breathed_ and fire devoured the hand holding him back. 

The assassin reared backwards, mid strike, clearly having not been expecting a fire breathing twelve year old. Zuko snarled, throat glowing with the golden orange heat that he held, lungs bursting with inner fire. Undoubtedly his throat would be burned tomorrow, tongues of flame flickering behind his barred teeth. 

He and the assassin locked eyes, his golden and furious, the assassin's yellow brown and wide with pain. Zuko's searching fingers found the doorknob behind him and he threw it open, dashing out and away. 

The assassin followed. 

Zuko stumbled over his feet, coughing, throat burning as he shouted, "Help! Assassin!" Something wet trailed down his neck, it had to be blood from the blade nicking him. He turned, caught sight of his would-be murderer and was filled with an inexplicable rage. He was the Crown Prince of Fire Nation. If he couldn’t protect himself, how could he expect his people to look to him for protection? 

Zuko whirled, planted his feet, and called upon Agni's inner fire. It was weaker than he was used too, Agni's absence affecting his power. Nevertheless, flames lit up the hallway and the assassin slid to a halt. 

The attacker crouched, dropped the knife, and fire flickered to life. 

His enemy was a firebender as well. 

Zuko's eyes narrowed. He hadn’t used anger as a channel for his fire in a long time, but the rage pulsing against his ribs in sync with his pounding heart made his fire bleed red. 

They faced each other, waiting. 

Zuko hoped that the palace filling with the glow of fire would at least signal to someone that there was something very wrong. 

His attacker lunged, fire shooting outwards, and Zuko found his challenge to be disturbingly easy. His assassin was nothing like Azula's fiery perfection and not nearly as powerful. Or as strong willed. He easily redirected the flames, and slinging outwards, sent his enemy's own fire back at him. 

There was probably a reason the assassin had resorted to knives and cowardly secrecy than an outright attack. If he hadn’t been awake... 

He was lucky Tui's light had woken him up. 

Zuko dodged, easily deflecting. 

He feinted to the right and then struck, pushing all his power into his flame. 

The assassin fell howling, the hallway filling with the scent of burning flesh. 

Zuko winced, quickly snuffing out his fire. He didn’t want to- to kill him! 

The figure lay, trembling on the ground, limbs twitching, blubbering incoherently. Zuko approached cautiously. The assassin seemed taken care of now. He crept closer and the burnt husk suddenly struck, leaping upwards and tackling him, hands wrapping around his throat. 

Zuko struggled, heart pounding, adrenaline coursing through his veins, back pressed against the carpet, legs kicking feebly. His breath came out choked and in frantic gasps. Even with his training, however, he wasn’t a match for the full weight of a murderous grown man pinning him to the floor. 

Zuko's scrabbling fingers found the discarded knife, he caught it, wheezing desperately now, and, flipping it nimbly, drove it into his assassin's jugular. 

Blood spurted, his attacker clawed at his neck, choking, and Zuko kicked him away scrambling across the wood. 

The prince plastered himself against the wall, eyes wide, chest heaving. 

His would-be killer lay splayed on the ground, twitching and gurgling, blood pooling around his form. Zuko watched, terrified, waiting. 

The air smelled of copper and burnt meat, so thick he could taste it on his tongue, tainted by the salt of tears and sweat. 

The assassin didn’t move again. 

It felt like hours later that soldiers came stampeding down the hallway, skidding to a halt at the sight of the crown prince covered in blood and the gruesome corpse before them. 

Zuko turned, wild eyed, and, as they would gossip about later with their families, his face was spattered with fresh blood, golden eyes sparking with Agni's liquid fire. 

Determining the soldiers not to be a threat, his eyes drifted back to the gory mess on the floor. Iroh burst through the group of hesitant soldiers and knelt by his son, "Zuko! Are you alright?" 

Zuko couldn’t seam to tear his eyes away from the dead body. 

Iroh knelt by his son and, gently touching his blood-splattered cheek, turned his head towards him. Iroh's brow softened at the sight of tears welling up, "Zuko. Everything is alright. I’m here now." 

Zuko seemed to come back to himself and he moved, finally, burying his head in Iroh's embrace, shoulders shaking. 

Iroh hushed him, murmuring quietly, "It’s alright, my son. Everything is alright now." 

Both of them knew that was a lie. 

* * *

Security tightened around the palace as word spread that assassins had infiltrated the Fire Nation capitol. And even worse, the assassins had been firebenders. Whispers and rumors flew until an official statement was made. Until then, and even after, the soldiers who'd happened upon the scene were regarded as welcome messengers, their stories growing more and more elaborate. 

Ming, who was one of the assistant cooks, said Iroh had nearly been poisoned with tea. Fire Lord Iroh however, being clever and a fine connoisseur of tea had sensed something wrong before he’d even taken a sip of the deadly poison. The servant, Meixiu it was whispered, had presented the tea and was found soon after attempting to flee the palace. 

In the middle of the subsequent interrogation, a soldier (Pao raised his hand and laughed and said that he was the messenger) had seen fire light up the dark night on the other side of the complex. Pao said it looked like Agni himself had come to reside within the fire nation's palace, like a city on fire. Iroh's blood had drained from his face as he thought of how close that was to the young prince's quarters and he’d run towards the danger, a squad of soldiers barely keeping up with him. 

Hau-Ling was one of the less tight lipped soldiers who’d been on the scene and she took full advantage of that. Telling about the scorched palace walls and blackened carpet, the bloodied body, burnt and bleeding and unrecognizable, a knife sticking out of its throat. The prince, so small and terrified, blood-spattered and trembling, eyes burning with dragon's fire. 

Hau-Ling had the exciting part of the story and she held a captive audience every time. Pao was perhaps a little bitter of this fact. 

However, the general consensus was how terrible those firebenders were to betray their country, how awful it was to attack a small child, and what a capable young prince they had- how he would make a fine Fire Lord one day. 

This was no doubt the exact opposite reaction intended by the mysterious figure who'd hired the assassins, and was probably very frustrating overall. 

* * *

Zuko's quarters were moved closer to Iroh's, extra guards patrolled around the palace, and two soldiers had to follow the prince around every moment of the day. Zuko did not like these additions and he sulked about the matter for a few days. La'nh and Xuan, his two new guards, seemed to want to be around him as much as he did.

The bright spot was that Ursa had been able to see him early, peppering his face with kisses and unshed tears. 

That had been a week ago and Zuko still felt all twisted up inside. 

He’d been practicing his firebending almost obsessively, half afraid of the red color accompanying his fury to taint his fire once more. 

He couldn’t seem to close his eyes without seeing the corpse painted red. He’d killed someone. He regretted it. Well, Zuko certainly didn’t regret being  _alive_ , but he felt... tainted. 

He didn’t want to ever have to do it again. 

Zuko finished his forms with a flourish, sweating under the sun. He panted, brushed the stray hairs that had escaped his ponytail out of his face, and promptly began again. 

* * *

Iroh had less time to attend to his son these days. Which was why he started taking tea with Zuko at night. Zuko was unusually quiet and Iroh eyed him carefully, sipping his tea. 

He’d hoped to keep Zuko free of the reality of killing and the harsh brutality of war. He’d not been so lucky. Zuko was a mere boy and already he’d tasted blood. 

The candles flickered and Iroh cleared his throat, "A copper for your thoughts?" 

Zuko blinked and then sighed, clearly reluctant. 

Iroh waited. 

Zuko finally relented, "I am... I am afraid." Iroh did not interrupt, merely listening as he spoke again, "I shouldn’t be, but I am." 

"Zuko, why should you not be afraid?" 

Zuko huffed, as if it were obvious, "Because I am a prince of the fire nation and I should not be scared of dead traitors." 

"Do not the wolfbats fear the badgermole? You are right to be afraid. Someone has tried to take your life. Lesser men than you have feared less than that." 

Zuko frowned, "But you’re not afraid!" 

Iroh chuckled, "Oh, Zuko. We are  all afraid."

Zuko seemed a little discomfited by that. Iroh sipped his tea carefully, "Do you know what bravery is?"

He snapped, "Of course I know what bravery is!" 

Iroh raised an eyebrow. 

Zuko sighed, pursing his lips, "Bravery is being unafraid. Courage is fearlessness!" 

Iroh's brows softened, “Oh my son. That is not bravery at all. Bravery and courage is being afraid." Zuko opened his mouth to interrupt, but Iroh continued patiently, "So very afraid that you can hardly move, and yet, facing your fear anyways. Bravery is standing before your fear with your knees knocking and yet, refusing to back down."

Iroh smiled, "You are very stubborn, Zuko. And very  _very_ brave."

Zuko flushed at the praise, "Oh." 

He stared into his tea, cheeks pink, "Thank you father." 

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is here my peeps: https://ford-ye-fiji.tumblr.com/


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